Jutaku living

ENGLISH VERSION further down…. but don't miss the fotos on the way!

(Jutaku- grupo de departamentos en que viven los profesores)

Buenas tardes… tal vez es la mañana en este momento. Está loco que puedo despertarme, vivir todo el dia en trabajar y jugar y despues te escribo (tipar- “to type”?!) en la noche… y si estuviera ordenado, podería tener articulos cada mañana… sobre el día que irías a vivir… que raro a vivir 16 horas en el futuro.

(Bienvenidos a mi dept! Welcome to my apt! Pon tus zapatos al frente al lado mios! Leave your shoes at the door next to mine!)


Intentaba un proyecto a las diez anoche… y limpiar el baño no debe estar dificil… pero a veces está… y el cuarto de la ducha… y por fin, tuve una negociacíon/ guerra pequeña con la cucaracha mas grande en todo el mundo! Puedo admitar, grité cuando nos encontramos… era un boludo rapido… Pero, en final no habíia sangre de nadie, estamos viviendo más tranquilo y entendemos nuestras fronteras, y mis baños son limpios!

Así que me sentí más comodo en sacar fotos esta mañana (como terminaste con trabajo ayer!) y las puse acá.

Que aburrido: (ver la descripcíon en inglés sobre las dimensiones del apartamento). En realidad, la majoridad de mis amigos que hablan castellano o español, no le importa los numeros o descripciones como así… las fotos hablan mas fuerte que palabras fomes sobre esto… tambien no tenía la paciencia a explicar en Castellano!

(Lo mismo, pero con una "puerta" abierta! The same, but with an open "door!")

Ves?! El refrigerador mas tarde? Que aburrido! Mándame fotos para poner en la puerta!

Mi departamento es simple, porque el hombre antes de yo me regalo pocas cosas solo. Él continuará a viver en Kurume (Q’-Ru-Me) -mi ciudad, de 300,000 personas- así que sacó más o menos todo. Esto es fantastico, porque el dept es casi vacio- todavía hay un “aura” de paz. Tal vez hay otras personas quien le gusta espacios simples y “vacio” (a mi, pienso que le significa lleno!). Me parece que yo había estado obteniendo hasta el vuelo a Japon. Despues de boté mis cosas en California, salvo fotos y papeles, llegué en Japon con todo que necesito ahora. La verdad, tengo mas cosas que necesito. Así que, tengo ganas de botar más y tener control de la consumpcíon. Decidé que las velas y los flores estaba mandatarios en cada cuarto.

(El cuarto de la ducha LIMPIA! Clean shower room!)

Todavia no tengo clases o estudiantes porque estan en vacaciones. Voy a la Oficina de La Educacion del Kitachikugo (area local) y estudio japones todo el dia. Comienzo a enseñar inglés en tres semanas y poco.

No tengo más por ahora… espero que entendiste mis ideas!

(la proxima en Japones tambien! Estoy chistoso yo… la idioma es imposible!)
Ahora en ingles, pero no olvides a ver las fotos siguientes hasta al final...

(El trono del palacio! The throne of the palace!)

Ma-ta-né (Pronto, en japones),
Dave

(La cocina...lugar bueno para cocinar! The kitchen... great place to cook!)

ENGLISH VERSION

(Jutaku- aparment complex in which teachers live)

Good evening… or perhaps morning by the time you read this. It’s nuts that I can wake up, live a whole day of work and play and then type it to you at night… and if it were organized, then you could have new articles every morning when you wake up… and they would be about the “current” day that you are about to experience... such a weird thing… 16 hour time difference from California.

(La oficina... me encanta la silla! My office... I dig the chair!)

Any-who… I started a project at 10pm last night… and I have to say that cleaning a bathroom shouldn’t take too long… but then it does… and then the shower room… and it turned into an ordeal and a discussion/ minor battle with the world’s biggest cockroach. I can say it, I yelped when I saw him… fast-moving bastard… more of shock than anything else… but in the end no blood was drawn on either side, we are both living more peacefully and understand our respective boundaries, and my bathrooms are clean!

(El living! The living!)

So, then I felt comfortable taking pictures this morning (as you finished yesterday’s work day!) and I have posted them here.
Some boring stats for you: The average tatami mat is 2X1 meters… (Roughly 6X3 feet). I have two 4 ½ - tatami mat rooms (which I have designated as, “bedroom” and “office”) and a 6-tatami mat room (namely the “living room”). There is a kitchen that separates the office from the other living quarters and the bathrooms (one for the shower and sink, one for the toilet) are adjacent to the kitchen and the bedroom, as you enter the apartment. The rooms are all separate-able, based on how I slide the sliding wooden doors. Most of the time everything is open, I just love the feeling of space… this also helps keep it light all the time… it also helps me deal with the intense humidity. And, the rooms change during the day too based on the air flows I want….

(El living del "bedroom(?)"! Living room from the bedroom!)

Gosh, how boring! There are some of the descriptions in words. I am a huge fan of writing-based communication and story-telling, but I’ll let pictures tell most of this situation.

You’ll noticed a mostly bare fridge… you can make your way on it if you mail me pictures!

(Lo mismo, sin flash, la cocina a la derecha! Same shot, without flash, kitchen to the right!)

The apartment is simple; my predecessor left me few things. He will continue living in Kurume, so he took most of his things with him. This is fantastic, as my apartment is mostly “empty” but it is a feeling of peace. Maybe there are more people who value simple space and “emptiness” (which, to me, is rather full!). It seems as if I had been cluttering up my life until my recent move. After botar-ing (my version of Spanglish for “getting rid of”) my things in the California, less some fotos and files, I came to Japan with all that I need now. In fact, I even have more than I need. So I am now excited to minimize even more and control consumption and material-collection. I did decide however, that candles and flowers in each room were rather mandatory.

Still I have no classes or students because they are on vacation. I go to the Kitachikugo Board of Education and study Japanese all day. I start teaching English classes in three more weeks and a bit.

(Duermo alla- Hay mucho espacio y el piso es muy comodo! I sleep over there- There is a lot of space and it's super comfy!)

That’s it for now. See you soon. Next time in Japanese… just kidding! It is impossible... I have LOTS of work to do!

Matane,
Dave

PS- You’ll notice random flags… from my time in Italy (PACE means peace)

PPS- I have a balcony extending the length of the kitchen, office and living rooms and a small one outside the shower room… what a steal for: …a family of cockroaches, no air conditioning (mine is the only one of seven apartments without it… cheaper electric bill and lots of sweating!), and ¥12,600/month ($110 on a bad exchange rate day)…